A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler , mixed martial artist , or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet , it is relatively easy to discover a fighter's real name.
122-461: John Randall Hennigan (born October 3, 1979), better known by his ring name John Morrison , is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Johnny TV . He also performs for their sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). He is best known for his tenures in WWE , Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground . He also performs on
244-656: A Tables, Ladders and Chairs match . On October 1 at Héroes Inmortales XI , Mundo wrestled in three matches, retaining the Mega Championship against Rey Wagner , but losing the Latin American Championship to Fantasma in the annual Copa Antonio Peña battle royal , and the World Cruiserweight Championship to Lanzelot in a ten-way match, ending his triple championship reign at 196 days. On January 26, 2018 at Guerra de Titanes , Mundo lost
366-462: A falls count anywhere match . Morrison participated in the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble on January 30, 2011 and despite not winning, he had a stand-out moment which was praised by critics as "arguably the spot of the decade" when Morrison was knocked off of the ring apron and performed a cat leap onto the barricade to avoid having his feet touch the floor and then went on to precision jump onto
488-618: A triple threat match also involving Carlito to win the title. Nitro held the championship for four months, retaining against Jeff Hardy on September 17 at Unforgiven , before losing the title back to Hardy on the October 2 episode of Raw . Nitro recaptured the Intercontinental Championship from Hardy on the November 6 episode of Raw , but lost it back to Hardy on the following week's Raw . Also around this time, Nitro entered into
610-560: A Falls Count Anywhere match; The Miz won the match by delivering the Skull-Crushing Finale on the steel entrance stage, giving Morrison a ( kayfabe ) injury. This was used to write Morrison off television, even being stretchered out of the arena after the match. On November 29, WWE acknowledged the end of Morrison's contract, and moved his profile to the alumni section of its website. In a video published on December 9, 2011, via Hennigan's personal YouTube channel, Hennigan claimed that he
732-596: A Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) event. On June 21, 2013, Hennigan defeated Carlito Caribbean Cool in FWE Welcome to the Rumble II, winning the FWE Heavyweight Championship. The next day, Hennigan defended the title against Too Cold Scorpio at House of Hardcore 2. On October 12, 2013, at FWE Grand Prix, Hennigan defeated Matt Morgan , retaining the FWE Heavyweight Championship. On March 11, 2015, Hennigan lost
854-626: A distraction by Benjamin. Morrison continued to score victories over Benjamin in singles and tag team matches before defeating him on May 17 at Judgment Day . During this time, Morrison would soon become wildly popular with fans. On the June 16 episode of SmackDown , Morrison lost a critically acclaimed match against Edge , in which the commentators described it as a "third main event". On the July 31 episode of SmackDown , Morrison had his first World Heavyweight Championship match against Jeff Hardy, but failed to win
976-615: A double countout for the Intercontinental Championship on the November 13 episode of SmackDown and Morrison retaining the championship in a two-out-of-three falls match the following week to end the feud. At Bragging Rights on October 25, Morrison lost to his former tag team partner then- United States Champion The Miz in an interbrand Champion vs. Champion match. Their rivalry continued after both were announced as opposing team captains for Survivor Series on November 22, where Miz's team defeated Morrison's team. Morrison then went on to feud with newcomer Drew McIntyre , who defeated Morrison in
1098-505: A falls count anywhere match to end their feud. At Night of Champions on September 18, Morrison competed in a fatal four-way match for the United States Championship , also involving Alex Riley , Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger, with Ziggler retaining his title. Morrison then challenged Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship at Hell in a Cell on October 2, but failed to win the title. Following this, Morrison went on
1220-497: A fatal four-way match for a spot in the United States Championship match later that night. However, he failed to win the title in a triple threat match against Riddle and reigning champion Bobby Lashley , which was won by Riddle. After this, Morrison and Miz feuded with rapper Bad Bunny and Damian Priest. At WrestleMania 37 on April 10, Morrison and The Miz lost to Bad Bunny and Priest. After The Miz suffered an injury at WrestleMania Backlash on May 16, Morrison would embark on
1342-436: A fatal four-way tag team match also involving Lucha House Party ( Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado ) and The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake ). Morrison and The Miz then started a rivalry with Universal Champion Braun Strowman . At Backlash on June 14, the duo competed for Strowman's title in a two-on-one handicap match , but lost. As part of the 2020 Draft in October, both Morrison and The Miz were drafted to
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#17330845402491464-462: A few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure. Low Ki used the alias "Senshi" during his second TNA stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked
1586-466: A horror-themed wrestler called The Boogeyman during a match at an OVW live show. The two have not been on positive terms since, even having a confrontation during an event both were performing at as recently as October 2017. Cornette was replaced by WWE Trainer Al Snow on the announce team, and Snow was replaced as creative director/producer by Paul Heyman . This arrangement would be short-lived, however, as WWE would eventually put Heyman in charge of
1708-510: A ladder match against Kofi Kingston and Jimmy Uso, in which he was successful. On the April 17 episode of SmackDown , the duo lost the titles back to The New Day after The Miz unsuccessfully defended the titles by himself in a triple threat match against Big E and Jey Uso ending their reign at 50 days. At Money in the Bank on May 10, Morrison and The Miz unsuccessfully attempted to regain the championship in
1830-433: A legitimately pinched nerve in his neck. Morrison initially returned on the June 13 episode of Raw , but Truth attacked him again prior to their scheduled match, re-injuring him. Morrison returned again on the July 25 episode of Raw , attacking R-Truth. At SummerSlam on August 14, Morrison, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio defeated R-Truth, Alberto Del Rio and The Miz. The following night on Raw , Morrison defeated R-Truth in
1952-420: A losing streak, lasting a number of weeks. On the November 7 episode of Raw SuperShow , Morrison picked up his first victory in three months, defeating United States Champion Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match. Morrison challenged Ziggler for the championship at Survivor Series on November 20 but lost. In his last advertised WWE appearance on the November 28 episode of Raw SuperShow , Morrison faced The Miz in
2074-596: A main event of Nick Dinsmore and Rob Conway vs Juan Hurtado and The Assassin #2. In 1999, WWF creative team member Jim Cornette bought a stake in OVW. Cornette, taking on the role of booker and show writer while appearing in an on-camera commentator role, made his first televised appearance on July 10, 1999, and spoke of the changes that were to take place. The first group of developmental talent included future stars such as John Cena , Randy Orton , Brock Lesnar , Batista , and Shelton Benjamin . OVW held its final show at
2196-524: A majority interest in the company. Snow continues to run the promotion's day-to-day operations. Later that year, Louisville TV station WDRB reported that OVW was preparing to move into a building in the city's St. Joseph neighborhood that had served as a University of Louisville employee fitness center before being closed in 2019. If zoning approval is obtained, both OVW and the Al Snow Wrestling Academy will operate out of that facility. It
2318-399: A match between John Cena and Lance Cade as the main event for the final Kentucky Kingdom show. However, FCW was dissolved in 2012 and was relaunched as NXT , formerly a reality/scripted television program that existed in its format from 2010 to 2012, replacing the ECW brand . In 2009, OVW alumnus John "Bradshaw" Layfield would leave WWE to sponsor OVW. On September 8, 2010, in what
2440-569: A match that they lost. MNM and The Hardys feuded across the brands throughout the month, with the two teams competing in a four-way ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Armageddon on December 17 also involving Brian Kendrick and Paul London and Dave Taylor and William Regal , which MNM failed to win. Nitro challenged Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental Championship in a steel cage match at New Year's Revolution on January 7, 2007, but lost. MNM lost to The Hardys at
2562-483: A mixed tag team match. On the April 11 episode of Raw , Morrison participated in a five-man gauntlet match for the #1 contender's spot for the WWE Championship, but was eliminated by R-Truth. The next week on Raw , Morrison challenged R-Truth to a match with the stipulation that if Morrison won, he would take Truth's place in the steel cage match at Extreme Rules . Truth accepted and lost the match, making Morrison
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#17330845402492684-626: A non-title match on the December 4 episode of SmackDown , thus earning a championship opportunity against Morrison. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, Morrison lost the Intercontinental Championship to McIntyre, ending his reign at 103 days. Morrison later won an Elimination Chamber qualifying match and participated in the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship on February 21, 2010, but
2806-508: A partnership with Qatar Pro Wrestling. That same month, Game+ , a Canadian channel owned by Impact's parent company, Anthem Sports & Entertainment , began syndicating OVW's television program in Canada and the United States. On January 5, 2021, OVW announced that Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio and Craig Greenberg of 21c Museum Hotels were lead investors in a group that purchased
2928-468: A partnership with rapper Kevin Federline , with the duo antagonizing and beginning a rivalry with WWE Champion John Cena . Federline was then, in storyline, trained by Nitro for a match with Cena, which he won after interference from Umaga . MNM reunited on the November 27 episode of Raw to accept an open challenge from The Hardys (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy ) at December to Dismember on December 3,
3050-457: A seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against The Nexus . In October, Morrison began a feud with Sheamus after he helped Santino Marella earn an upset win during a one-sided match against Sheamus. Within the following weeks, Morrison continued to save Marella from attacks by Sheamus. At Survivor Series on November 21, Morrison defeated Sheamus. Morrison entered the 2010 edition of the King of
3172-496: A singles run, starting by defeating Jeff Hardy on the June 14 episode of Raw . The following week, Morrison defeated Randy Orton to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at the namesake pay-per-view event on July 18, which was won by Big E . On the August 23 episode of Raw , The Miz turned on Morrison by attacking him, thus turning Morrison face and setting up a feud between
3294-533: A strong physical resemblance. Morrison retained the title against Punk at The Great American Bash on July 22, and on August 26 at SummerSlam . Punk would again challenge for the championship on the September 4 episode of ECW , in which Morrison lost the championship to Punk, ending his reign at 69 days. Morrison was then suspended for thirty days for violating WWE's Wellness Program , renewing his feud with Punk upon his return, as well as competing against The Miz for
3416-485: A sudden death match against Team Mexico's Pentagon Jr. Ring name Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan , Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels , Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper , Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock , Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho , and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk . A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or
3538-563: A tag team lumberjack match where both titles were on the line at the WrestleMania 25 , but it was The Colóns who would unify the championships with a win. On April 13, as part of the 2009 WWE draft , The Miz was drafted to the Raw brand to split up the team, and as a result, The Miz attacked Morrison. On April 15, Morrison was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft . On
3660-501: A tag team Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber , successfully defending their titles against The New Day, The Usos , Heavy Machinery ( Otis and Tucker ), Lucha House Party ( Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado ), and Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode . On the first night of WrestleMania 36 on April 4, after The Miz's absence due to illness, Morrison defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championships by himself in
3782-403: A tag team match, in which Swann pinned Impact. At Slammiversary XVII on July 7, Impact lost to Swann. On July 8, Pro Wrestling Insider reported that Hennigan's contract with Impact Wrestling had expired several weeks prior to the event, and the two sides agreed to have Hennigan work until Slammiversary. On December 7, 2017, Hennigan debuted for Major League Wrestling (MLW) in the main event of
John Morrison (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-518: A three-way Last Chance Six Sides of Steel match on the January 25, 2018 episode of Impact! , where Drake retained the title. After Drake lost the renamed Impact World Championship to Austin Aries , Impact began pursuit of Aries's championship, facing him at Crossroads special on March 8, where he lost again. On the April 19 episode of Impact! , Johnny Impact was attacked and injured by Kongo Kong , which
4026-635: A three-way match. On January 25, 2013, Morrison appeared at Dragon Gate USA 's Open the Golden Gate, defeating Akira Tozawa in the main event of the show. Hennigan took part in the WrestleMania weekend, wrestling for the Pro Wrestling Syndicate. On April 4, Hennigan defeated Elijah Burke and on April 5, Morrison defeated Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger in an "International Dream Match" at
4148-676: A triple threat match for the ECW Championship . After the defeat, the rivalry aspect of Morrison and The Miz's relationship faded, as they were now portrayed as trusting friends. Morrison competed in the 2008 Royal Rumble match on January 27, but failed to win after being eliminated by Kane . In February 2008, Morrison and The Miz were given a streaming segment on WWE.com named The Dirt Sheet in which they mocked other wrestlers and facets of pop culture. Morrison and The Miz co-wrote each episode of The Dirt Sheet each week, and Morrison credits his time in college studying film with contributing to
4270-751: A variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick , such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus , Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley , Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage . Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg , Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella , Mike Mizanin using The Miz , Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes , and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow . Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name such as. It
4392-524: A winning effort. After the match, Mundo taunted Lucha Underground Champion Mil Muertes , only to be confronted by Cage . Mundo defeated Cage on February 24, after interference from the debuting Taya , subsequently becoming Mundo's valet. On the May 25 episode of Lucha Underground , Taya revealed to P. J. Black and Jack Evans that their partner Fénix was injured by Mundo. As Mundo revealed himself as Fénix's replacement for their match, Black and Evans allied with
4514-637: Is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ( The Undertaker , Mr. Perfect , and Diesel ). Ring names are often trademarked by
4636-448: Is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona. Some (mostly independent ) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It
4758-702: Is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky . The company is currently run by Al Snow , Matt Jones , and Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg . OVW was initially a member promotion of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from its inception in 1993 until 2000, when it became the primary developmental territory for the World Wrestling Federation, now known as WWE . It remained in this role from 2000 until February 7, 2008, when
4880-518: The AAA Mega Championship . At Triplemanía XXX: Monterrey , Hennigan, now under the name "Johnny Caballero", teamed with Taurus in a three-way tag team match to defeat Dragon Lee and Dralístico , and Laredo Kid and Jack Cartwheel . In the main event of Triplemanía XXX: Tijuana , Caballero was revealed as Matt Hardy 's mystery tag team partner (due to his original partner Jeff Hardy 's arrest five days prior). Caballero, who went under
5002-480: The FWE Heavyweight Championship to A.J. Styles . On June 28, 2016, it was announced that Hennigan would make his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerilla in the company's annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament. He won his match against Matt Sydal in the first round, but was eliminated by Ricochet in the quarter-finals. On January 28, 2017, Morrison won a tournament at a 5 Star Wrestling event for
John Morrison (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-624: The Intercontinental Championship three times, and was a six-time tag team champion . In lucha libre , Hennigan was a central fixture in all four seasons of Lucha Underground , and was AAA's first-ever triple champion, holding the AAA Mega Championship, AAA Latin American Championship , and AAA World Cruiserweight Championship simultaneously. He has headlined multiple major events for WWE and Impact , including
5246-458: The Raw brand . Prior to the draft, Morrison and The Miz entered a feud with Otis for his Money in the Bank contract . At Hell in a Cell on October 25, Morrison accompanied The Miz in his match against Otis for the contract, which Miz won. "He's come back and he's kind of been, like, the handyman . He ain't the handyman ... Put some respect on his name because John Morrison is a superstar when given
5368-505: The Royal Rumble on January 28, and again at No Way Out on February 18, which ended the feud. MNM disbanded as a team when Mercury was released from WWE in March 2007. After Mercury's departure, Nitro also ended his association with Melina. Nitro was placed in a tag team with Kenny Dykstra , until the 2007 WWE draft , during which Nitro was drafted to the ECW brand. Nitro made his debut for
5490-733: The Slammy Award for Best WWE.com exclusive earlier in the day, Morrison and The Miz won the "Tag Team of the Year" Slammy Award on December 8, 2008 episode of Raw . On December 13, Morrison and The Miz won the World Tag Team Championship from CM Punk and Kofi Kingston at a live event . Morrison and The Miz engaged themselves in a feud with The Colóns (Carlito and Primo ), who were the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions, which resulted in both teams defending their respective championships successfully in separate matches. Their feud culminated in
5612-570: The University of California, Davis in 2002, where he studied film and geology . After graduating college with a degree in film and geology and deciding that he did not want to pursue either path, Hennigan began his professional wrestling career training at the Supreme Pro Wrestling school in Sacramento, California . After failing his audition for Tough Enough 2 , a competition in which
5734-682: The independent circuit under his real name, as well as his previous ring name John Morrison. On his first post-WWE wrestling appearance, Hennigan rekindled an old feud, facing off against Shelton Benjamin in the main event of the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) Champions Showcase Tour in Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2012. Hennigan won the match to become the inaugural WWFX Heavyweight Champion. On August 12, 2012, Hennigan appeared at Juggalo Championship Wrestling 's Bloodymania 6 event, defeating Matt Hardy and Breyer Wellington in
5856-515: The independent circuit under various ring names. After winning Tough Enough III (a WWE reality TV competition show that awarded winners a wrestling contract with the company), Hennigan was assigned to its developmental territory , Ohio Valley Wrestling . WWE promoted Hennigan to its SmackDown! roster in April 2005 under the ring name Johnny Nitro ; winning the WWE Tag Team Championship with Joey Mercury in his first match on
5978-437: The promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE , which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and
6100-645: The revival of ECW as a WWE brand. Eventually the booking duties would go to Al Snow , who would have the longest tenure outside of Cornette. Jim Cornette sold his stake in OVW to Davis in 2007. In 2007, WWE launched Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in Tampa, Florida to serve as a new developmental territory. OVW and FCW simultaneously trained WWE prospects for a brief period, but on February 7, 2008, WWE announced that it had ended its relationship with OVW, moving all contracted talent to FCW. WWE-contracted talent also made occasional appearances on OVW shows, including
6222-574: The stable MNM . MNM wrestled in OVW for around a year, holding the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once, before losing the titles to Cappotelli and Johnny Jeter in January 2005. They were soon called up to the main SmackDown! brand in April that same year. In their debut match on the main roster, MNM won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio on the April 21 episode of SmackDown! . MNM held
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#17330845402496344-680: The "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe , A.J. Styles , Shinsuke Nakamura , Austin Aries , Bobby Roode , and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa , who wrestle both on NXT and
6466-533: The 5 Star Wrestling Championship, defeating Moose , Drew Galloway , and Rey Mysterio to win the title. On February 8, 2018, he lost the title against Jake Hager after over a year as champion. On September 22, Morrison reunited with former MNM tag team partner Joey Mercury after ten years, defeating Reno Scum . In September 2014, it was reported that Hennigan had signed with the El Rey network's new television series, Lucha Underground , where he wrestled under
6588-410: The AAA Mega Championship to Rey Wagner , ending his reign at 314 days. In August 2017, despite not being signed to the promotion at the time, Hennigan appeared for Impact Wrestling at some live events. On August 17, a video package was shown at Destination X revealing his ring name as Johnny Impact. His first feud in the promotion was with Eli Drake , when Impact made his televised in-ring debut on
6710-518: The Al Snow Wrestling Academy, and had applied for accreditation with the Kentucky Department of Education . The school would be approved by the state of Kentucky on September 15, making it the first officially accredited professional wrestling trade school. During the August 8, 2019 TV tapings, it was announced that OVW TV would move to Tuesday nights on WBNA starting October 1, and that the show would air live. In October 2020, OVW announced
6832-418: The April 17 episode of SmackDown , he defeated R-Truth . On the May 1 episode of SmackDown , Morrison engaged in a backstage fight with Chris Jericho after Jericho slapped him, turning face in the process for the first time in his career. Later that same night, Morrison defeated Shelton Benjamin , beginning a feud between the two. On the May 7 episode of Superstars , Morrison lost a match to Jericho after
6954-527: The August 24 episode of Impact! , participating in a Gauntlet for the Gold match for the vacant Global Championship , but was eliminated by eventual winner Eli Drake . Impact would face Drake for the title at Victory Road on September 28 and Bound for Glory on November 5, where he failed to win the title. Since the Bound for Glory match ended after Alberto El Patrón made an interference, Impact, Alberto and Drake had
7076-560: The Bluegrass would mark the first collaboration between OVW and Impact since 2013, and would be the first time the new Davis Arena has ever sold out an event via pre-sale tickets. On March 19, 2019, Impact announced that the company had entered a new partnership with OVW as its developmental territory. In April 2019, local media in Louisville reported that OVW was developing a formal vocational educational program in professional wrestling through
7198-575: The Championship. King Cuerno attacked Mundo on the February 4 episode, beginning a feud between them; the second installment took place on the episode which aired March 11, where Mundo and Cuerno wrestled in a Steel Cage match, which was won by Mundo. On May 13, Mundo turned into a villain when he attacked Alberto El Patrón in his match against Hernandez , throwing him through the window of Dario Cueto's office. Mundo subsequently tossed El Patrón back into
7320-435: The December 16 episode of SmackDown! two days before Armageddon . Due to help from Mark Henry , MNM defeated Mysterio and Batista in a rematch on the December 30 episode of SmackDown! to win the championship for the third time. They began a rivalry with the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick that lasted over three months, until they dropped the championship to London and Kendrick at Judgment Day on May 21, 2006, with
7442-419: The February tapings for Impact Wrestling, Impact defended his title in a four-way contest involving Killer Kross, Moose and Brian Cage. Impact hit his finisher on Moose, barely seconds prior to Cage hitting his Drill Claw finisher on Killer Kross. As Impact was able to cover his opponent first the referee was able to provide the count and therefore Impact won the match as Brian Cage went to cover his opponent. On
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#17330845402497564-463: The June 7 episode of Raw against Eugene , which carried the stipulation that upon his loss, he also lost his job, but was actually returned to OVW. Upon his return to OVW, Nitro was put into a feud with Matt Cappotelli. During the course of the feud, Melina was brought into the company as Nitro's ex-girlfriend and an ally of Cappotelli, only to turn on him and side with Nitro. Not long after, Nitro and Melina were joined by Joey Mercury , forming
7686-693: The Kentucky and Indiana territories that were formerly run by the United States Wrestling Association , with weekly shows run out of the original Davis Arena in Jeffersonville, Indiana, with larger shows run out of the Louisville Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1997, OVW ended its relationship with the NWA and renamed itself Ohio Valley Wrestling. Later that year, Trailer Park Trash became
7808-722: The Lucha Underground Championship, becoming the second Triple Crown Champion in Lucha Underground history. On the December 21 episode of Lucha Underground , Mundo successfully defended his championship in a rematch against Sexy Star inside a steel cage. He lost the title to Prince Puma at Ultima Lucha Tres . Mundo made his return on the fourth season's premiere, competing in Aztec Warfare entering at number 11. Mundo eliminated Ricky Mundo and Daga before getting eliminated by Marty Martinez and being attacked by
7930-568: The March 15 episode of Impact Wrestling , Impact's wife Taya Valkyrie would low blow Cage, which allowed Impact to attack Cage, turning into a villain. At United We Stand on April 4, Impact won a five-way Ultimate X match to become the number one contender for the Impact X Division Championship . Throughout April, Impact successfully defended his title from Cage, often with interferences from Valkyrie and former referee John E Bravo. At Rebellion on April 28, Impact, accompanied by Valkyrie and Bravo, lost
8052-569: The Never Say Never event, teaming with Shane Strickland in a loss to Darby Allin and Jimmy Havoc . On July 19, 2018, at Battle Riot I , Hennigan participated in the 40-man Battle Riot match , which was won by Tom Lawlor . On September 6, in the main event of WarGames , Hennigan participated in a WarGames match , teaming with Shane Strickland, Tommy Dreamer , Barrington Hughes and Kotto Brazil to defeat Abyss , Jimmy Havoc , Sami Callihan , Fulton and Leon Scott. On September 26, 2019, it
8174-639: The Reptile Tribe. On November 17, 2018, Mundo wrestled on the final episode of Lucha Underground, Ultima Lucha Cuatro , defeating Matanza Cueto in a Sacrifice to the Gods match. On May 24, 2015, Mundo made his debut for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) at the Lucha Libre World Cup event representing Lucha Underground as a member of "Team TNA /Lucha Underground" alongside TNA wrestlers Matt Hardy and Mr. Anderson . They finished in second place, losing in
8296-455: The Ring tournament , defeating Tyson Kidd , Cody Rhodes, and Alberto Del Rio but lost to Sheamus in the final round. He continued to feud with Sheamus and defeated him in a WWE Championship number one contender's ladder match at Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 19. Morrison received his WWE Championship match on the January 3, 2011 episode of Raw , but lost to reigning champion The Miz in
8418-602: The SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The New Day , with Morrison winning singles matches against Big E and Kofi Kingston . At Royal Rumble on January 26, 2020, Morrison participated in the Royal Rumble match as the fifth entrant, but he was eliminated by Brock Lesnar . At Super ShowDown on February 27, The Miz and Morrison won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship from The New Day. On March 8, Morrison and The Miz had their first title defense in
8540-421: The United States were formally with the "Al Snow Wrestling Academy" brand which was merged with OVW upon the purchase by Gladiator Sports. This expands Ohio Valley Wrestling to a total of 17 wrestling schools worldwide. An on-demand service, which will air past and current editions of the original American brand plus the possibility of a future OVW UK Brand, was also announced. The service would officially launch on
8662-526: The angle "like [it] was a shoot". The two wrestlers got in a brawl the night before Bound for Glory during Abyss 's Impact Hall of Fame induction. At the event on October 14, Impact defeated Aries to win the Impact World Championship. Throughout the following weeks, Impact successfully defended his title against Fénix, Killer Kross, and Matt Sydal . At Homecoming on January 6, 2019, Impact defeated Brian Cage to retain his championship. During
8784-548: The brand later that night to Jack Swagger . In his final match on SmackDown , he lost to Cody Rhodes . On June 1, Morrison announced that he would be mentoring Eli Cottonwood in the second season of NXT . Cottonwood, however, was the second person eliminated from the competition, and was eliminated on the July 27 episode of NXT . Morrison then went on to participate in the main event of SummerSlam on August 15, in which he and six teammates (John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart , R-Truth, and Daniel Bryan ) were victorious in
8906-425: The brand on the June 19 episode of ECW , with a win over Nunzio , and few days later, on June 24, at Vengeance: Night of Champions , he won the vacant ECW World Championship by defeating CM Punk , replacing the absent Chris Benoit due to the latter's double-murder suicide . A few weeks after winning the title, Nitro was repackaged as John Morrison, a reference to musician Jim Morrison , to whom Hennigan bears
9028-554: The company down. On September 12, 2018, it was announced that Ohio Valley Wrestling would be merging with Top Notch Boxing, a major boxing promotion in Louisville, to form the Gladiator Sports Network. OVW's first event under the Gladiator Sports banner was the 1000th episode special of its television series on October 10, 2018, from Louisville's Fourth Street Live! . This was OVW's first ever live televised event and it
9150-512: The company. According to Wrestling Observer , AAA asked Mundo to turn in Taya's Reina de Reinas Championship for a photo shoot the day prior to an event on July 1. A few weeks later, Vampiro addressed to the live crowd that Forster was stripped of the title due to not appearing to defend her title, despite not being scheduled to appear. On August 26, at Triplemanía XXV , Mundo successfully defended his three championships against Fantasma and Texano in
9272-477: The event. Mundo participated in the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup as a member of "Team Lucha Underground" alongside Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Brian Cage , defeating "Team Mexico Leyendas" ( Blue Demon Jr. , Canek , and La Parka) in the quarter-finals, and "Team Mexico International" ( Rey Mysterio Jr. , Dr. Wagner Jr. , and Dragon Azteca Jr. ) in the semi-finals. Mundo's team won the tournament defeating "Team AAA" ( Pentagón Jr. , El Texano Jr. and Psycho Clown ) in
9394-445: The finals to the "Dream Team" ( El Patrón Alberto , Myzteziz and Rey Mysterio Jr. ). On June 4, 2015 in the main event of Verano de Escándalo , Mundo established himself as a rudo (or villain) and teamed with El Mesias and Pentagón Jr. losing to Myzteziz, La Parka and Rey Mysterio Jr. On September 27, Konnan announced Mundo as an official member of the rudo stable , La Sociedad , while he subsequently stepped down as
9516-563: The finals. After adopting an " anti-Mexico " attitude and teaming with El Mesías and Hernandez to defeat El Texano Jr., El Hijo del Fantasma and Pentagón Jr. , Mundo challenged the latter to a match at Triplemanía XXIV for the AAA Latin American Championship , to which Pentagón accepted. At the event, on August 28, Mundo defeated Pentagón to win the Latin American Championship, marking his first championship in AAA and becoming
9638-525: The first OVW Heavyweight Champion by defeating Vic the Bruiser. On January 16, 1998, OVW taped the first episode of its weekly television series, emanating from the original Davis Arena in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Louisville Gardens ring announcer Dean Hill served as play by play commentator alongside Faye Davis as the Ring Announcer. The show featured an introduction to the company by owner Danny Davis, with
9760-767: The first non-Mexican to hold the title. On October 2 in the main event of Héroes Inmortales X , Mundo successfully defended his title against Garza Jr. On March 19, 2017, at Rey de Reyes , Mundo defeated El Texano Jr. and El Hijo del Fantasma in a three-way match to not only retain the Latin American Championship, but to also win Texano's AAA Mega Championship and Fantasma's AAA World Cruiserweight Championship . In his first AAA Mega Championship defense, on June 30, Mundo successfully retained his title against Texano. In July 2017, Mundo and his fiancée Kira Forster, known as Taya , were involved in controversy with AAA and its Director of Talent Vampiro , which led to Taya's departure from
9882-477: The independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names. In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics ' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which
10004-644: The latter company's flagship event, Bound for Glory , in 2017 and 2018 . Outside of wrestling, Hennigan has also worked in the film and television industry. In film, he has mainly worked as an actor, producer and stuntman. He also competed as a contestant on the 37th season of the competitive reality show Survivor . John Randall Hennigan was born on October 3, 1979, in Los Angeles, California , and grew up in Palos Verdes Peninsula , where he attended Palos Verdes Peninsula High School . He graduated from
10126-431: The leader of the group. On October 4, at Héroes Inmortales IX , Mundo unsuccessfully challenged El Patrón Alberto for the AAA Mega Championship , when he was defeated by disqualification. After Alberto left AAA, Mundo was scheduled to face Rey Mysterio Jr. for the vacant AAA Mega Championship at Guerra de Titanes , but after the matches of the event were officially announced, neither Mundo nor Mysterio were featured for
10248-453: The lines between a work (something scripted) and shoot (something real), beginning with the two wrestlers trading insults on Twitter that they appeared to take personal, with Aries later deleting many of his tweets. Specifically, Impact mocked Aries' short stature and the champion responded by making fun of his wife 's weight. Aries and Impact both alleged in the media that they authentically took issue with comments. TMZ Live also pushed
10370-534: The main event of the December 10, 2014 episode, which was a three-way ladder match, to finally win the hundred thousand dollars he was denied in the Lucha Underground debut. On January 7, 2015, Mundo participated in a 20-man "Aztec Warfare" battle royal for the Lucha Underground Championship . He was the second luchador to enter the ring, but was the last man eliminated by Prince Puma who won
10492-480: The match for his team, but did not win the World Trios Championship due to the match stipulation in which the champions must be pinned to win the titles. At the 2023 Lucha Libre World Cup , Caballero teamed with Christopher Daniels and Sam Adonis as Team United States. In the tournament finals, they fought Team Mexico ( Taurus , Pentagón Jr. , and Laredo Kid ) to a draw; Caballero subsequently lost
10614-507: The name "Johnny Hardy", and Matt Hardy lost their match against Dragon Lee and Dralístico. At Triplemanía XXX: Mexico City on October 15, Caballero teamed with Brian Cage and Sam Adonis in a three-way trios match for the AAA World Trios Championship against Psycho Clown , Laredo Kid , and Bandido and champions Nueva Generación Dinamita ( El Cuatrero , Sansón , and Forastero ). Caballero pinned Laredo Kid to win
10736-402: The new #1 contender. After the match, Truth viciously attacked Morrison. At Extreme Rules on May 1, R-Truth interfered in the WWE Championship steel cage match, attacking Morrison to prevent him from winning the match. The next night on Raw , Morrison was attacked by Truth again, prior to a scheduled match between the two which did not happen as a result. Morrison then underwent surgery to correct
10858-414: The number one contendership to the title. Though rivals, Morrison and The Miz faced the dysfunctional tag team of Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) on the November 16 episode of SmackDown! for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a winning effort, marking Morrison's fourth WWE Tag Team Championship reign. At Survivor Series two days later, Morrison and The Miz were both defeated by CM Punk in
10980-538: The original Davis Arena on August 21, 2002, headlined by a match between Damaja and Rene Dupree . On September 4, 2002, the company would debut its show at the current Davis Arena at 4400 Shepherdsville Rd in Louisville, KY. On July 10, 2005 Jim Cornette parted ways with WWE and was relieved of his duties overseeing OVW. This resulted from an incident where Cornette reportedly slapped an OVW beginners class student Anthony Carelli (better known as Santino Marella) for having an inappropriate reaction to being confronted by
11102-674: The pair. However, the feud abruptly ended after the Miz took a hiatus to compete on Dancing with the Stars . On November 18, as part of an eighth round of layoffs due to budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic , Morrison was released from his WWE contract. On February 19, 2022, Hennigan returned to AAA as "Johnny Superstar" (his former ring name in Ohio Valley Wrestling ), and unsuccessfully challenged El Hijo del Vikingo at Rey de Reyes for
11224-586: The prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include: Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW)
11346-682: The promotion became unaffiliated . In November 2011, OVW became the developmental territory for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . This relationship initially ended on November 2, 2013, but on March 19, 2019, the two promotions re-established their developmental agreement. OVW's television programming originates from the Davis Arena in the Buechel neighborhood of Louisville. Their weekly series (branded on-air as OVW Rise since January 2024, and known informally as OVW TV ) currently airs live on local station WBNA-21 , streaming service Triller TV , and
11468-423: The promotion's YouTube channel. As of 2020, through various syndication and distribution deals, OVW's weekly series is available to view in over 100 million households in the U.S., and to over 700 million worldwide. OVW was founded by Nightmare Danny Davis in 1993 as a National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member promotion under the name NWA Ohio Valley Championship Wrestling. The company primarily ran shows in
11590-463: The right opportunity." On the December 7 episode of Raw , Morrison ended a nearly seven-month losing streak after defeating Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a 3-on-2 handicap match alongside The Miz and AJ Styles . Morrison entered the 2021 Royal Rumble match on January 31, lasting over eight minutes before being eliminated by Damian Priest . At the Elimination Chamber event on February 21, Morrison defeated Ricochet , Elias , and Mustafa Ali in
11712-466: The ring name "Johnny Superstar", turned on Cappotelli, establishing himself as a heel . On the March 1, 2004 episode of Raw , Hennigan debuted on the main roster as a heel under the ring name "Johnny Blaze". His gimmick was that he was the apprentice and assistant of the Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff . The next week his name was changed to "Johnny Spade", and three weeks after that it
11834-549: The ring name Johnny Mundo. Mundo wrestled in the main event of the debut episode of Lucha Underground on October 29, 2014, defeating Prince Puma and winning one hundred thousand dollars, which was then taken away from him by promoter Dario Cueto, setting up several feuds. He then teamed with Prince Puma during the November 5, 2014 episode, defeating Cortez Castro and Mr. Cisco. On the November 19 episode, Mundo defeated Big Ryck by disqualification after interference by Castro and Cisco. Mundo then defeated Prince Puma and Big Ryck in
11956-547: The ring steps and re-enter the ring. On February 20, Morrison participated in the Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber , but was eliminated by CM Punk. During the match, Morrison climbed to the top of the cage while inside the cage before dropping to deliver a crossbody on and eliminate Sheamus. At WrestleMania XXVII on April 3, Morrison, Trish Stratus and Jersey Shore guest star Snooki defeated Dolph Ziggler and LayCool ( Layla and Michelle McCool ) in
12078-412: The ring, giving Hernandez the win. On the June 17, episode of Lucha Underground , Johnny Mundo unsuccessfully challenged Prince Puma for the Lucha Underground Championship in an Iron Man match. On August 5, 2015, at Ultima Lucha , Mundo defeated Alberto El Patrón after an interference by his girlfriend Melina Perez . On the February 3, 2016 episode of Lucha Underground , Mundo faced Killshot in
12200-429: The roster. On November 7, 2011, it was announced that OVW and TNA Wrestling had reached an agreement for the former to become an official training and developmental territory. This agreement would end on November 2, 2013, due to a financial dispute. On April 6, 2018, it was announced that professional wrestler Al Snow was purchasing the promotion from Danny Davis, who was planning to retire but didn't want to shut
12322-535: The show. Hennigan has also held main event roles in several promotions outside of WWE, including lucha libre promotions Lucha Underground and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide as Johnny Mundo , and in Impact Wrestling as Johnny Impact . Hennigan has won the ECW World Championship , AAA Mega Championship , Impact World Championship , and Lucha Underground Championship once each. In WWE, he also held
12444-451: The storyline leading to Nitro and Melina suddenly turning on Mercury after the match, breaking up the group. Melina and Nitro left the SmackDown! brand by losing their jobs in kayfabe . The next week, Nitro, along with Melina, debuted on the Raw brand in a loss to WWE Champion John Cena . Nitro was immediately placed in the Intercontinental Championship picture, and at Vengeance on June 25, he defeated champion Shelton Benjamin in
12566-515: The success of the show. On March 30 at WrestleMania XXIV , Morrison competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match , which was won by CM Punk. Despite being unsuccessful, Morrison had a standout performance in the match, in which he performed a moonsault from the top rope to the outside of the ring while holding onto a ladder. Morrison and The Miz retained the titles against Kane and CM Punk at Judgment Day on May 18 and Finlay and Hornswoggle at Night of Champions on June 29, before dropping
12688-555: The third and final part Ultima Lucha Dos , which aired on July 20. On the October 26 episode of Lucha Underground , Mundo defeated Sexy Star to win the Lucha Underground Gift of the Gods Championship after he knocked out Sexy Star with brass knuckles while the referee was unaware. On the November 23 episode of Lucha Underground , he cashed in his Gift of the Gods Championship on Sexy Star before defeating her to win
12810-407: The third week of March 2019 at a cost of $ 4.99 a month. In February 2019, OVW would announce a partnership with Impact Wrestling to produce an exclusive event for Impact's Global Wrestling Network (GWN). The event, titled Clash in the Bluegrass , would be an Impact One Night Only special held on March 2, 2019, in Davis Arena. The full-length event would stream on GWN on March 9, 2019. Clash in
12932-507: The title to Cage in a match where Lance Storm was special guest referee; this left Impact's reign to end at 196 days, leaving it the longest reign since Bobby Roode's 2011–2012 reign, and therefore the longest reign in seven years, as well as the third-longest reign in history. On the May 31 episode of Impact Wrestling , Impact challenged X Division Champion Rich Swann to a title match at Slammiversary XVII . Later that night, he teamed with Michael Elgin to face Swann and Willie Mack in
13054-405: The title. On the September 4 episode of SmackDown , Morrison defeated Rey Mysterio to win his third Intercontinental Championship. Morrison then began a feud with Dolph Ziggler , retaining the title against Ziggler on October 4 at Hell in a Cell , and again on the following episode of SmackDown . The feud between Morrison and Ziggler continued throughout the next month, with the two wrestling to
13176-523: The titles for three months, having successful defenses against the teams of Guerrero and Mysterio, and Charlie Haas and Hardcore Holly on May 22 at Judgment Day , before dropping them to the Legion of Doom on July 24 at The Great American Bash . They won the titles again on the October 28 episode of SmackDown! in a four-way match defeating Legion of Doom, The Mexicools , and William Regal and Paul Burchill , but lost them to Rey Mysterio and Batista on
13298-435: The titles to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder on July 20 at The Great American Bash in a fatal four-way match which also featured Jesse and Festus . Neither Morrison nor The Miz were pinned, as Hawkins pinned Jesse to win the titles. Afterwards, they started a feud with Cryme Tyme ( JTG and Shad ) through each team's Internet show, which then transitioned to matches on Raw and on October 26 at Cyber Sunday . After winning
13420-550: The two. Later that night in the main event, Mundo, Black and Evans defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. , Prince Puma and Dragon Azteca Jr. to win the Lucha Underground Trios Championship , the first championship for each in Lucha Underground . The week after, Mundo, Black and Evans, now collectively billed as Worldwide Underground, retained their championships in a rematch via disqualification. Worldwide Underground lost their titles to Aero Star , Drago and Fénix at
13542-710: The winner earned a World Wrestling Federation (WWF) contract, he was accepted as a cast member for Tough Enough III in 2002, eventually becoming the co-winner with Matt Cappotelli . For winning, Hennigan was awarded a developmental contract and assigned to their developmental territory , Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), to continue his training. Hennigan competed in Acolytes Protection Agency 's invitational Bar Room Brawl match on July 27, 2003, at Vengeance . Hennigan and Cappotelli made an appearance on an episode of Heat in January 2004, losing to Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak . In March 2004, Hennigan, going by
13664-455: The wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the " Connecticut Blueblood " Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H . A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous , such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude
13786-402: Was announced on August 21, 2023, that OVW would be featured in a new docu-series to air on Netflix titled, Wrestlers . The show follows the company throughout their journey and climb back to prominence. The series comes from director Greg Whiteley ( Last Chance U , Cheer ) and BBC Studios Los Angeles and covers Al Snow's attempt to keep the promotion economically viable. The success of
13908-450: Was changed to "Johnny Nitro". The Nitro name, which finally stuck, was a reference to WCW Monday Nitro , the flagship show of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for which Bischoff had previously worked, using the Nitro theme as his ring entrance music . Nitro acted as Bischoff's apprentice and assistant until June, when he was sent back to OVW. To explain his departure, Nitro lost a match on
14030-422: Was dubbed the company's "season premiere", Danny Davis, who himself was making his return for the first time in over a year, announced that Jim Cornette was returning to his role as match maker of the company. Cornette, who was also executive producer of Ring of Honor 's HDNet show, Ring of Honor Wrestling , announced that ROH talent were going to work in OVW, along with other new and returning OVW members of
14152-596: Was due to Hogan being advertised as " The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name . The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior , had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior". In many cases, ring names evolve over time as
14274-433: Was eliminated by The Undertaker . On the March 5 episode of SmackDown , Morrison teamed with R-Truth to defeat Cryme Tyme and The Hart Dynasty to earn a Unified WWE Tag Team Championship match against ShoMiz ( Big Show and The Miz). At WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, they failed to win the championship. On April 26, Morrison was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2010 WWE draft , and lost his first match back for
14396-595: Was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with
14518-522: Was performed to write him off television in order to film for reality television show Survivor . Impact returned at Slammiversary XVI on July 22, when he won a four-way match against Fenix , Taiji Ishimori , and Petey Williams . Impact began a feud with the Impact World Champion Austin Aries, which led to a match at Bound for Glory . As the PPV moved closer, the feud started to blur
14640-416: Was reported by Mike Johnson of Pro Wrestling Insider that Hennigan had re-signed with WWE, which was officially confirmed by the company on December 3 during WWE Backstage . He made his return on January 3, 2020 episode of SmackDown under his John Morrison ring name and resumed his partnership with The Miz , thus re-establishing him as a heel for the first time in WWE since 2009. They would feud with
14762-512: Was streamed on FITE TV . The event featured a tournament to crown the vacant OVW championship featuring both current and past stars as well as a tribute to the companies founders. On October 29, 2018, the brand announced an international expansion of its wrestling school and television product to the European Market labeled OVW-EU. Most of the schools now affiliated with the OVW Brand outside
14884-407: Was taking time off to heal and retrain for a possible return to wrestling in the future. In 2015, Hennigan revealed on Stone Cold Steve Austin 's podcast that WWE wanted him to sign another multi-year contract, but due to a neck injury, residual pain, and creative frustrations, he decided to not renew his contract, wanting "more control over [his] time". After leaving WWE, Hennigan began wrestling on
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